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Text of the advertisement in the image above:
FOR SALE, The Time of a NEGRO MAN,
a slave to 28 years. He has five years and seven months to serve, and is
a healthy, active young fellow; a complete farmer, is fond of working with
horses, and wishes to go into the country.
LIKEWISE, a 2d hand Coachee & Sleigh, with good harness to each, fit for
immediate use. For terms apply to the subscriber in Harrisburgh.
JOSHUA ELDER. January 16, 1808.
notes
The Elder family was one of the more prominent
families in Dauphin County and Harrisburg. Joshua was the son of the Rev.
John Elder, the famous preacher of Paxtang Presbyterian Church. Five
members of the family registered slaves in Dauphin County after the passage of
the 1780 Gradual Abolition Act. Over the course of several years, Joshua
Elder registered twelve slaves and may have owned more. A farmer by
profession, Joshua Elder also had a considerable knowledge of the law and served
in several public offices during his life. He was highly involved with the
revolution, administering the oath of allegiance to Lancaster County patriots as
the appointed Justice of the Peace. He later served as the Burgess of the
Borough of Harrisburg in 1810.The man
offered for sale in this advertisement would have been twenty-two years old,
based upon the remaining length of his term, and would have been born in August
1785. Elder must have used him on his Paxtang farm, as he notes that the
man is "a complete farmer," and "is fond of working with
horses." The man apparently enjoyed that type of work, as he
expressed a preference to "go into the country." At
this point, we do not know the name of this man who is offered for sale. Joshua
Elder registered two males born after 1780: Peter and Richard.
Based upon the order of registration, Peter would have been closest to the
correct age, and might be the enslaved man referred to here, but Elder may also
have acquired other slaves that were registered by previous owners, and this
could be a person not registered by Elder himself. 
Click here for Joshua Elder's slaveholding
data.
Click here to read about Thomas
Elder, nephew to Joshua Elder.
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